The Shame of the G.O.P.

Last minute attempt to allow Legislator to speak rejected by Haynes & Co.

State GOP Executive Committee flips off over 25 legislators who signed March letter demanding answers.

PRAVDA sends congratulations to the SEC: Tennessee’s version of the Politburo.

Rocky Top was at the SEC meeting today.

Okay, that last headline was in reference to the communist propaganda rag, Pravda, and was an exaggeration. But just sort of.

As RTP predicted (and we are getting so tired of being so right all the time. Alas, a burden we must bear), when the full state executive committee met today, Haynes had everything set up to gag Rep. Judd Matheny.

“Why?” Because shut up!” That’s why.

Ken Gross – of phony Trump delegate fame – made the motion to deny Matheny even one minute to speak. To the left you can see Gross right before the meeting, sneaking a smoke just before the vote outside (trying to summon his courage, we suppose). In Friday night’s “pre-meeting,” Gross also said that the state executive committee meeting “was not the forum” for discussing Matheny’s complaints. So RTP’s question to Ken Gross is: “Just what the hell IS the forum to discuss this kind of corruption, Ken?”

For good measure, Gross also told a whopper when he told the administrative committee that Matheny “had not been invited to address the meeting.” Not true, Ken. Matheny told one of our tipsters that he had an email where Haynes officially invited him to speak a couple of days ago (just before he made sure Matheny wouldn’t get the votes to speak.) It’s going to take more than The Dean to bail you out on this one, Ken.

Although he had officially invited Matheny to speak, Haynes told the administrative committee that “Judd will go off topic” if allowed to speak, and making it clear he wanted the administrative committee to vote against letting him make any statement of any kind. Then when someone made a motion in today’s meeting to allow Matheny to speak, it was voted down 35-25, with five members not voting or offering their proxy. There were nine proxy votes for absent members and, why don’t you know, every single one of the people who weren’t there (the proxies) voted against letting Matheny speak. What are the odds?

“Not-an-employee” Taylor Ferrell working at the SEC meeting.

And what would a dirty backroom meeting be without the ubiquitous Taylor Ferrell? To the right is a photo of Ferrell taking a very visible role in all of the day’s proceedings. Gee, Ryan, didn’t you say she was not actually “an employee” of the state party back in the spring when 27 legislators sent you a letter calling on you to clean up your disgusting mess? What a lie that was.

“Not-an-employee” Ferrell was also at the Friday night conclave. She sure gets around for someone who is not “an employee.” Maybe she was regaling everyone at the dinner about how she made tens of thousands of dollars trying to defeat incumbent state legislators and an incumbent GOP congressman. How did the Grant Starrett race turn out for you Taylor?

In conclusion, let us address an oft-repeated rationale heard today for not allowing Rep. Matheny to speak. Like Myna birds repeating a talking point, several SEC members claimed “this was not the forum” and that “we need to be united going into the election.”

“United?” Really?

You all should have thought of that before you used Republican Party resources to try to defeat incumbent Republican Party officials, then lied about what you did.